OK, I am officially a “farm widow”..MacGyver has finally hopped up into the combine and become “MacFarmer”..
There has been so damn (oops!) darn much rain the past few weeks it has put the harvest here in DeKalb County a tad behind! I’m sure this is of no great concern to most, but our travel plans call for us to be in Pensacola, FL on Dec. 7th. Our first full week in Florida will be at Fort Pickens. Now you might know I am going to give you a bit of a history lesson…
”Fort Pickens is a pentagonal historic United States military fort on Santa Rosa Island in the Pensacola, Florida, area. It is named after American Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens. The fort was completed in 1834 and remained in use until 1947. Fort Pickens is included within the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and as such, is administered by the National Park Service. Construction of the fort lasted from 1829 to 1834, with 21.5 million bricks being used to build it. Much of the construction was done by enslaved African Americans.
“Fort Pickens was the largest of a group of forts designed to fortify Pensacola Harbor. Despite repeated Confederate military threats, Fort Pickens was one of the few Southern forts to remain in Union hands throughout the Civil War. Captives from Indian Wars in the West were transported to the East Coast to be held as prisoners. From October 1886 to May 1887, Geronimo, a noted Apache war chief, was imprisoned in Fort Pickens, along with several of his warriors.”
“During the late 1890s and early 20th century, the Army had new gun batteries constructed at Fort Pickens. Instead of many guns concentrated in a traditional thick-walled masonry structure, the Endicott batteries are spread out over a wide area, concealed behind concrete parapets flush with the surrounding terrain. The use of the accurate, long-range weapons eliminated the need for the concentration of guns that was common in the Third System fortifications. Battery Pensacola was constructed physically within the walls of Fort Pickens, while other similar concrete batteries were constructed to the east and west as separate facilities. The ruins of these later facilities are also included in the Gulf Islands National Seashore complex. Only one weapon of this era, a 6-inch M1905 gun on a disappearing carriage located at Battery Cooper, survives to this day.”
Looks mighty fine to me!!! I cannot WAIT!!!
Meanwhile, things are pretty good around the Cave Cave…I am, however, continuing my ongoing battle with the wildlife around here…Yep, those nasty squirrels are now making snacks out of my Fall Decorations…
I guess they have an appetite for more than flowers…Turns out they really like pumpkins and gords too..At this rate, I will be replacing a few pumpkins!…I really should put out plastic ones, but I have this strange feeling that they would eat those too…I remember when the critters destroyed my small American Flags I had in my pots…hence their nickname “Al-Qaida Squirrels”…
And they are still digging up my pots of grasses I have around my fountain area…Seems they hide their nuts in those pots…I know there are lots of animal lovers out there, so I will refrain from putting out any “ideas” I have (or recipes) for these little buggers!!
I managed to get my garage sale in last weekend…Of course the weather turned brutal…rain, frost, even a little sleet. I ended up sitting out there in about 3 layers of sweatshirts and my sweatpants, gloves and ear warmers…Sorry, no pictures of that outfit…even scared ME!
Dennis wasn’t in the field on Saturday evening…rain puts a damper on combing…Therefore, we had our regular “date night”. We got all “gussied up” and went downtown to The Olde Tyme Inn, a very old tavern and food place in Sandwich…This bar has been here a long time..not sure exactly how long. It still has the old wood floor and interesting old back bar…
Notice the mural painting on the back behind the liquor..and the old pillars and cabinet…Rumor has it that the mural was painted by a transient who stayed in a room above the bar and paid for his rent by painting that mural…
So that about does it for my excitement …I am in full Autumn and Halloween mood and found the perfect sign to put on our back door…
Pretty much says it all about the Cave household!!
I think you should borrow my squirrel pellet pistol. It doesn't kill them, but leaves yellow polka dots on them from the chalk. Then, again, it could start a squirrel fashion rush.
ReplyDeleteGot to thinking about you two tonight... I fixed shrimp wrapped in bacon.... seems that was our meal when met you at Falcon St Pk a few years ago. I like reading about your time at home, but will be looking forward to reading about your Florida adventures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun looking bar and grill.
ReplyDeleteI think I would be giving those squirrels a ride to the next county.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post on where you will be. We've been to Fort Pickens but I forgot a lot of the history. I like the caulk pellet gun Judy had for those pesky squirrels.
ReplyDeleteBoy when I'm ready to go somewhere & have to wait for someone I can get pretty bonkers. I remember a few years ago when we had to delay our southern departure a month because of someone who decided to come to our area visiting folks in mid November. That was a tough month of just sitting around chomping at the bit to get on the road. Luckily Kelly has no interest in driving farm machinery late in the season.........
ReplyDeleteFort Pickens is one of our favorite getaways in the winter. Loop A is the smaller campground we like. If you like fresh seafood Joe Patti"s Seafood Market in Pensacola is the place to go.
ReplyDeleteAh, yet another thing we have in common.... we both like old things LOL. I've heard a lot of great things about Fort Pickens and look forward to your post on it. Hope the rains let up so you can get MacGyver out of that combine and on the road!
ReplyDeleteGreat new header photo!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the history lesson on Fort Pickens. The only thing I knew about it was that Geronimo had been held there.
Hope the weather gets better so Dennis can finish up all his jobs.
Judy is my hero....anything to get those pesky squirrels from bothering my beautiful birds!!
ReplyDeleteWe have plans to visit Ft. Pickens sometime this winter!! Thanks for the history :-)
Hey Guys get those crops harvested so you can get south hope to see ya in Florida
ReplyDeletethe crops will be harvested in no time..hope the wildlife observations help you pass the time!
ReplyDelete..at least you can have happy hour around the campfire!!